Self-seb



E. L. DA ROZA. SELF SERVING STORE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV..7. 1918. I Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

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awoewtoz .E. L. DA ROZA. SELF SERVING STORE.

APPLICATION HLED NOV. 1. ms. 1,313,794.. Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

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. "7 4- 7, Moe/Mu Elk Grov tion or displa novel system of aisles cabinets or shelves,

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD L. DA 302A, 0! ELkGBOVE, CALIFORNIA.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD L. DA RozA, a-citizen of the United States, residing at in the county of Sacramento and e State of alifornia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self-Serving Stores, of which the following is a specification. v

This invention relates to stores for vending groceries and other merchandise and more particularly to that class of stores in which the service -of selecting and. collecting the different articles or commodities is performed by the individual purchasersand commonly known as self-serving stores.

The object of the invention is to provide a store or sales room, the interior construcarrangement of which is such asto uti ize a maximum floor space or area for the dis lay of merchandise and to so arrange the display cabinets or shelves as to permit a customer to conveniently inspect the entire stock of oods and make his desired selections there than heretofore.

The invention further aims to provide a between the display said aisles being connected by intermediate passageways an each aisle being tition or rail which not. only serves to direct customers in a proper path through the store, but also compels said customers to make their selections of goods from the shelves or cabinets on one side of each path only so that liability of overlooking any particular brand or kind of goods is re- 1 duced to a minimum.

entering t e store room The invention further aims to minimize the congestion which might result from the loitering or visiting .of customers while and yet ives the and iends who may speak other without necessarily retarding the progressof others who may wish to continue hurriedly from entrance to exit.

The invention further contemplates th revision of a basket rack or stand arranged in 'alinement with and forming a part of wall of the entrance lobby, said basket rack bein readily accessible to customers and to the clerk in charge of'the wrappin partment so that after t e baskets have been turned in bythe customers they may be Specification of Letters Patent.

rom in less time rovided with a central. parof merchandise shelves, racks, and settlement de-V Patented Aug. 19, 1919.

Application filed November 7, 1918. Serial No. 261,498;

conveniently and accurately replaced in the receiving rack bythe settlement clerk withoutthenecessity of him leaving hispar ticular de artment. v

furt er object is to provide a store equipment general supply or stock room and a private ofiice or auditin room, both being accessible from the sales epartment and the exterior of sa d rooms being provided with shelving constituting a part of the display shelving of the sales department.

A still further ob 'ect of the invention is generally to improve the construction and arrangement of stores of this character so as to increasetheir utility and efiiciency.

Other and incidental objects will appear as the description proceeds. In the drawings wherein I have' illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention, and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a self-serving store constructed in accordance with the present invention and looking rearwardly from the lobby thereof,

Fig. 2 is a horizontal plan view.

The improved store forming the subjectmatter of the present invention comprises a preferably rectangular structure including side walls 5 and 6 connected by front and rear walls? and 8. Spaced from the front wall 7 is a transverse partition 9 definin constitutes a lobby room, indicated M11. The partition 9'is provided with an entrance passage 12 and an exit 13 separated from each other by a suitable barrier 14, there being turnstiles 15 and 16 mounted for rotation in the entranceshown in Fig. '2'

and exit passages, as best of the drawings, and through which the cusincluding in its organization a tomers enter and leave-the store, it being understood that the turnstile 15 will be provided with suitable ratchet mechanism so as to cause said turnstile to open inwardly only "and the turnstile 16 provided with ratchet mechanism to permit itto open out-V wardly only. Within the salesroom are built a plurality or more spe- 17 as shown herein, which cifically cabinets cabinets .may be face in opposite directions to display the double-sided so that they ends of the endmost units of the row abut the end walls of the room While their inner ends are" spaced frem each other to produce a transverse op'eniague, and when there are two units in each-row the several openings 19 will aline and produce a transverse aisle,

across the room atabout its midlength intersecting all the longitudinal aisles 18.

Extending longitudinally within each aisle 18 and medially thereof are partitlons which may be in the form of fences or rails 20 each having its outer end'spaced from the adjacent end of the aisle to form a return passageway 21 and its inner end connected by a diagonal portion or bar 22 with store.

nature of fences, and particularly" if. the

the adjacent merchandise holder 17 to form an oblique or cross over passage 23. The

partitions may take, any appropriate form. In some cases they may be of wood or other material, as high or as low as thought Wise. But as a closed partition would to an extent shut off ventilation and render cleaning of the store-room diflicult, I prefer to make these partitions in the form of fences, and

even in some cases in the form of hand rails.

Whatever their construction, these elements 20 not onlyserveto direct customers in a proper path through the store, but also compel the customers to make their selections of goods from the shelves or cabinets on one side of each path only so that liability of the. customer overlooking any particular brand or kind of goods is reduced to a minimum. In other words, with rather high partitions located medially of the aisles, customers entermg the sales room will not have their attention diverted by opposite rows of merchandise to select from but will direct their attention to the merchandise displayed in the cabinets or holders on one side of each path only as they pass through the With lower partitions more in the same be tasteful hand rails, the separation of the two streams of customers moving in opposite directions within the paths is equally elfective, but it becomes convenient for aperson in one path to see and perhaps to stop and'visit with a person in the contiguous path. The natural tendency at that time would be for both customers to step up to the fence or rail, and this would take them out of those parts of the paths which are nearer to the cabinets, and; hence out of the: streams of'moving customers. The outer 4 or free end of each fence 20 is'prefera'bly provided with a post or column 24 upon which may be mounted a cluster of electric ranged against the rear lights 25 for illuminating purposes. If detention of the customers when selecting their.

goods from the shelves or merchandise holders proper. One or more cabinet units may take the form ofa refrigerator 26, in which event the doors 27 thereof will open outwardly into the adjacent paths so-that customers may have ready access to the interior of the refrigerator during their passage through the sales room.

Arranged near and extending parallel with the lobby 10 is a checking and settlement department 28, on the counter 29 of which preferably stands an adding machine 30 and a cash register 31. The counter 29 is so arranged that the checking and wrapping clerk normally faces the rear end of the store and in position to give attention to the customers as-they file pass the counter on their way to the exit 13."

Across the back of the lobby is a rack or holder 32 adapted to receive a series of baskets 33 for the use of the customers in carrying the goods selected from the shelves or cabinets in the sales room and wrapping clerk. It will here be noted that the basket-receiving rack 32 is so arranged that the baskets are exposed at the lobby 10 and in convenient position for custo the checking tomers entering thestore to select a basket chasers, may conveniently and accurately replace the baskets in the receiving rack 32 without the necessity of the clerk leaving his particular department. The rack 30 is thus accessible to both the settlement clerk and thecustomers. 'Across the rear of the store is a supply or stock room 34 having a plurality of inwardly opening doors 35 which communi cate, respectively, with the several aisles 18 and through which the stock clerk may conveniently ass into the supply room for the purposeof replenishing the merchandise on the shelves or holders from time to time as required. Auxiliary display shelves or merchandise holders 36 are preferably arwall 8 on opposite sides of the doors 35, as shown.

The store equipment also preferably includes in its organization a main o'flice or auditing room 38 in which all invoices of form a passage 42 which connects the entrance with the tortuous path through the aisles 18. Also the wall 5 along the passage 42 may be lined with display she ves vor cabinets as shown. In order that all of the available floor space may be utilized, the office walls may support display shelves or cabinets 43, certain of which are visible from the passage 42 and others from the first aisle 18 there being a fence44 extending longitudinally from the rear end of the main oflice and similar in construction to the rear ends of the fences 20.

Arranged between one end of the settlement department and the wall 6 is a fruit or vegetable rack 45 and extending between said fruit rack and the counter 29 is a guiding partition {id-defining a passageway 47 which communicates with the aisles 18 and also with thevexit 13. If desired the lobby 10 may be provided with suitable benches or seats 48 arranged at opposite corners thereof for the conveniencelo customers entering the store.

It will thus be seen that a customer entering the lobby through the doors49 will at once be confronted with the basket rack 32 and prior to entering the sales room through the turnstile 15 may select one of the baskets from the rack. As the. customer passes along the diiferent aisles of the 'store he" makes his desired selection of goods from the merchandise displayed inv the shelves or cabinets and deposits the'selected goods in his basket and after making the complete circuit of the sales room enters thesettlement department through the passage 47.

'The settlement clerk checks the different articles selected by the purchaser, audits the account and after wrapping the articles delivers the same to the customer, who passes .out through the exit turnstile 16, the empty basket being replaced in the receiving rac by the settlement clerk without the neces sity of leaving his particular department and in which position the basket may be again used by the next customer entering the store.

The interior arrangement of the merchandise display holders. and aisles are such as to efl'ectually utilize the maximum floor space of the store so as to permit customers to conveniently inspect the entlre stock'of goods and make selections therefrom in less time than heretofore while the arran ement of the settlement department and bas et-receivin rack renders said rack convenient to both t e settlement clerk and customers.

It will, of course, be understood that the store may be of any desired size or shape and-that any desired number of rows of merchandise holders and intervening aisles may be employed without departing from the spirit of the invention. v

' Having thus described my invention, what is claimed as new is:

"and to the opening in the last-named row.

2. In a salesroom, rows-of cabinets spaced to leave a longitudinal aisle between them, the rows having an inlet opening into one side of the aisle and an outlet opening from the other side thereof, and -a partition rail alon said aisle-dividing it into paths, the rail sing in sections with their inner ends diverted and leading one to one side of said inlet and the other to the opposite side of said outlet, said diverted ends being spaced from each other to produce a cross-over path, as described.

3. In a salesroom, two rows of cabinets spaced to leave a longitudinal aisle between them, each row bein made up of two units with their inner en s spaced to produce an inlet opening to one sideof the aisle and an outlet opening from the other'side thereof,

a partition rail along said aisle dividing it into paths, the rail being in two sections spaced from each other at the inner ends. and bars connected with the inner ends of said rails and leading oppositely to, respectively opposite units in said rows of cabinets, one to one side of said inlet and the other to the opposite side of said outlet, the bars being spaced from each, other to produce a cross-over path, as described.

4. In a salesroom, two rows of cabinets spaced to leave a longitudinal aisle between them, the rows abutting the end walls of the room and having an inlet opening into one side of the aisle and an outlet opening from the other side thereof, a partition along to produce a cross-over path, as described.

5. Ina salesroom, two parallel rows of cabinets spaced to leave alongitudinal aisle betwen them, each row bemgmade up of twounits with their outer ends abutting the end walls of the room and their inner ends spaced to produce an inlet opening to one side of the aisle and an outlet opening from the other side thereof, a medial line ofsaid aisle dividing it into paths, the rail being in two from each other at their inner ends and spaced from both said room Walls at their rail along the sections spaced outer ends to leave return paths around "said outer ends, and bars connected with the 1n said rows of'c'abinets, 'on'e to one side of saidinlet and the other to the opposite side of-said outlet, the bars being spaced from each other to produce a cross-over path, 20 as described. -i

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

. EDWARD L. M QROZA. 1,. a 

